Practice sheel



June 22, 1943. w. H ALLEN PRACTICE SHELL Filed July 3, 1942 Patented June 22, 1943 PRACTICE SHELL William H. Allen, United States Army, Bowling Green, Ky.

Application July 3, 1942, Serial No. 449,701

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) Claims.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to a dummy projectile or mortar shell to be used in training new troops in the handling of weapons, particularly to the training of troops in mortar firing.

The training of unskilled troops in the use of artillery which they have never handled before presents the problem of making the training realistic without making it expensive. The practice firing should resemble actual firing, but since it is practice it should preferably not require the expenditure of large quantities of actual ammunition, which is likely to be both expensive and in demand for actual combat in time of war.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a practice projectile which gives inexperienced troops the training necessary for actual combat use of real ammunition, and which at the same time can be made economically of materials not required in the real ammunition. The object is achieved by the provision of a hollow dummy projectile of some inexpensive substance such as wood, in the hollow of which is disposed a spring adapted to project a spherical body or secondary projectile over limited ranges. The body is held in the dummy projectile in such a manner that careless handling of the same will result in premature detonation or discharge of the body, thus inspiring the respect due to real ammunition, and encouraging the careful handling of even the practice shell. Furthermore, the accuracy of projection of the spring-propelled body is good enough to give the training troops actual practice in adjusting the field piece on a target.

The specific nature of the invention as well as other objects and advantages thereof will clearly appear from a description of a preferred embodiment as shown in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 of the drawing is a view in elevation of a mortar practice projectile made according to the invention.

Fig. 2 is a view in section on line 22 of Fig. 1. Figs. 1 and 2 show the dummy projectile with the spring in its compressed, or maximum energy,

a position.

jectile made according to the invention, but having a slightly different trigger than the projectile shown in Figs. 1-3.

Fig. 5 is a view of a means which may be used to load and cook the projectile.

Fig. 6 is an elevational view of a mortar partly broken away to show th practice projectile inside.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, a body 2 is shown as having the general shape of a mortar shell projectile. A longitudinal bore or hollow 4 is provided, and resilient means capable of storing energy, such as coil spring 6, is secured in one end of the hollow to the body 2 by screw 8. A spherical body In, such as a marble or the proper size, constitutes a secondary projectile and is adapted to rest in the bore against spring 6. The spring and ball are held with the spring in its compressed, or maximum energy, position by releasable means such as trigger [2, by locking ring I4 pivoted in projectile body 2 at is. Trigger [2 has an inwardly bent extension l8 which engages ball Ill to hold the spring in its cocked position. Locking ring 14 may engage trigger l2 at the portion 20 which may be substantially straight, or may be recessed slightly as shown to provide a catch means. Trigger [2 also has a rather sharply bent or curved portion 22 into which ring l4 drops to permit release of extension I8 of the trigger from engagement with ball it for firing of the dummy projectile.

Trigger 12 may conveniently be pivoted in a slot 24 of the projectile, on a pin 26 screwed or otherwise held in place. Extension N3 of the trigger extends through opening 28 in body 2 into engagement with the ball. The projectile body may also be recessed or slotted at 30 to receive bent portion 22 of the trigger when th latter is in the cooked, or maximum energy of the spring, position.

A cord or string, a piece of which is shown at 32, of appropriate length may be fastened to the nose of the dummy projectile to allow it to be pulled out of the mortar barrel.

In Fig. 3, spring 6 is shown in its extended or minimum energy, position. This is th position taken by the spring upon firing of the projectile. In this figure, lock ring I4 is shown after it has dropped into the bent portion 22 of the trigger I2.

Fig. 4 shows another practice projectile made according to the invention, but with a modified trigger 12'. In this application of the invention, bent portion 22' extends inwardly far enough to engage ball ID to hold the spring in its maximum energy position. As before, the trigger is held in this position by engagement of lock ring I4 with the portion 20, which may be substantially straight as shown, or may be notched slightly as in Fig.2.

Fig. 5 shows a convenient aid to loading and cocking the dummy projectile of the invention. A spindle 34 is mounted on a base 36. The upper end of the spindle is preferably concavely curved to fit the ball 10, and the end is also preferably relieved circumferentially, as by taper 38, to permit extension 18 or bent portion 22 to move inward to engage ball III.

In Fig. 6 is shown a mortar 40 with bipod 4|. As shown the projectile 2 has been dropped to the bottom of the mortar and the ball ID has been ejected by the spring 6.

Operation-A ball I0 is put in place on the concave end of spindle 34. The dummy projectile is inverted over the spindle and the ball and spindle are inserted into bore 4. Downward pressure on the shell body compresses spring 6 far enough to permit engagement of ball H] by extension I8 or curved portion 22 of trigger l2 or I 2', respectively. Lock ring M drops into place to latch the parts into the cocked position, which is the compressed, or maximum energy, position of the spring. It will of course be understood that this does not mean that spring 6 must always be compressed solid. There may be many designs in which the spring would not be compressed solid, and in those cases the maximum energy position of the spring would be its cocked position.

It will usually be found that the trigger and lock ring assume their cocked positions without manipulation, as soon as the spring has been compressed sufficiently, but if these parts do not drop into place of their own accord, it is a simple matter to put them into place manually.

The loaded and cocked projectile is now ready for use. It is to be dropped into the mortar in much the same manner as the real ammunition. Furthermore, carelessness in handling the shell might result in premature discharge, so even use of this practice shell encourages care in the handling of projectiles.

The projectile is dropped tail first into the mortar barrel. As it strikes the firing pin in the bottom, the shock of impact, and inertia, displace lock ring [4 downward, freeing the trigger and permitting the ball to shoot out. The projectile may then be pulled out by means of the attached string 32, another ball inserted by means of spindle 34 and the projectile again dropped into the mortar barrel.

I claim:

1. In combination, a body in the form of a projectile having a body portion with cylindrical surfaces and a nose portion, a longitudinal bore through the body, resilient means secured in the bore, and releasable means to hold the resilient means compressed.

2. The combination of claim 1 in which the releasable means comprises a secondary projectile in the bore, a trigger to hold the projectile in place, and releasable locking means to hold the trigger in engagement with the projectile.

3. In combination, a hollow body in the form of a projectile having a body portion with cylindrical surfaces and a nose portion, resilient means in the hollow, and releasable means to hold the resilient means compressed, the releasable means including a body adapted to be projected from the hollow by the resilient means upon release thereof from its compressed condition.

4. In a practice projectile having a body portion with cylindrical surfaces and a, nose portion, a longitudinal bore through the body, resilient means secured in the bore and having a compressed and an extended position, a secondary projectile adapted to be projected by the resilient means, a trigger to hold the resilient means in its compressed position, and locking means for the trigger having a locking and an unlocking position.

5. The shell of claim 4, in which the trigger has a substantially straight portion cooperable with the locking means in its locking position, a bent portion permitting disengagement from the locking means in its unlocking position, and a portion to engage the body to hold the resilient means in its compressed position.

6. In a practice projectile having a body portion with cylindrical surfaces and a nose portion, a longitudinal bore through the body, resilient means secured in the bore and having a position of maximum potential energy and another position of minimum potential energy, a secondary projectile adapted to be projected by the resilient means in its movement from maximum energy position to miximum energy position, a trigger to hold the resilient means in maximum energy position, and locking means for the trigger.

'7. In a practice projectile having a body portion with cylindrical surfaces and a nose portion, a longitudinal bore through the body, resilient means secured in the bore and having a position of maximum potential energy and another position of minimum potential energy, a, secondary projectile adapted to be projected by the resilient means in its movement from maximum energy position to minimum energy position, a trigger engageable with the body to hold the resilient means in maximum energy position, and locking means for the trigger, the locking means having a locking and an unlocking position.

8. The practice projectile of claim 7, in which the trigger has a portion cooperable with the locking means in its locking position, and a curved portion permitting disengagement of the trigger from the locking means in the latters unlocking position.

9. The practice projectile of claim 7, in which the trigger has a portion cooperable with the locking means in its locking position, and a curved portion permitting disengagement of the trigger from the locking means in the latters unlocking position, the curved portion engagin the body to hold the resilient means in the position of maximum energy.

10. Practice projectile comprising a body, a longitudinal bore in one end of said body, compressible means in said bore, a trigger on said body movable into and out of the path of said compressible means and an inertia member on said body for locking said trigger in position in the path of movement of said compressible means and adapted to release the same on sudden arrest of motion of said projectile in the direction of motion thereof corresponding to compression of said compressible means.

WILLIAM H. ALLEN. 

